Colonial AlfredxReader: Independance
by EvanescingSky
Summary: Alfred tells you one day he wants England to start treating him like an adult. But what began as a cry for attention turned into a full-blown war and before you knew it, you were in danger of losing Alfred forever.


Yep yep yep, just a bit of Colonial!Alfred, because I feel like we don't get to see enough of him! Forgive my poor olde English ;)

* * *

><p>"Boston Harbor is closed!"<p>

"What will we do? How will we trade?"

"This is what we get for those blasted rebels refusing the authority of the Crown!"

"We will all starve!"

You awoke to such cries one summer morning. Jumping out of bed, you tugged on your shift, dress and bonnet, carefully tucking your [color] hair away. You laced on a pair of worn brown boots and hurried out into the streets. People were crowded down in the harbor, yelling and arguing about the events of the past few days. You spotted one of your friends and waved to her.

"Patience!" you called. "Patience!" She hurried over to you, her brown eyes wide with fear.

"[Name]! Hast thou heard? Boston Harbor has been closed down!" Her hands twisted her apron nervously. Her father worked as a merchant; this would spell ruin for his company if they didn't re-open trade very soon. "Word has it that Parliament is furious," she continued. "The Boston Tea Party was a slap in the face to them; they won't forget it soon! [Name] what are we going to do?"

You burned with anger; while you had been uncertain as to whether the measures taken by the Tea Partiers had been necessary, you were furious with England now-what right had they to shut down your ports? Were the colonies merely disobedient children who needed to be punished?

"I do not know," you admitted. "But we must do something! We cannot take this insult lying down!"

Patience chewed her fingernails, remaining silent. A devout Puritan, she was against almost all forms of violence-which included any kind of rebellion against England. But at the same time, her livelihood depended on trade out of the port of Boston.

"Have the men spoken of a plan of action yet?" you asked her. Patience shook her head. "Well…there is little we can do about the matter now. Shall we go to the market? I had some apples I needed to buy for supper tonight."

Patience nodded and followed you, a worried expression plastered on her face. Inwardly, you sighed. Patience was your friend, but she could be a trial sometimes. However, she did let you borrow her basket to carry your apples. As you passed people in the market, you heard an energetic voice riling up some of the men. It sounded vaguely familiar, but you ignored it as you chose the best apples for this evening and paid the vendor.

That is, until the voice sounded in your ear.

"[Name]! Hast thou heard?" Alfred asked. As you turned to look at him, you noted how strange it was that he wasn't smiling or joking about. In fact, he looked quite angry.

"What has transpired of late, Alfred? I have not seen thee in days," you said.

"We are planning to stand against England!" he declared. You stiffened; you'd known Alfred long enough to know that he was the human personification of America and England was his adopted brother. _He must be truly enraged to take such measures, _you thought.

"Thou art planning to fight?" you exclaimed in a hushed voice. Alfred nodded.

"Does thou not see?" he asked you gently. "If I do not fight now, England will never take me as I am. He will only ever see me as a child to be exploited and punished when I do not do as he bids me."

"Wilt thou cry for independence?"

"No, nothing so severe as that!" Alfred exclaimed. "Those of us planning to fight merely ask the rights of all Englishmen; we wish to be free. We wish to have a say in our taxes, to have representation in Parliament. That is all."

You looked around as though some British soldier might be watching before you spoke. "I believe in thy cause, Alfred," you said quietly. "But I do not know that thou hast the strength to fight this battle."

"I do; certainly, I do!" Alfred boasted. "It will not be violent, [Name]. Tis a simple rebellion-for the sole purpose of making England see that we must be respected." He looked so proud, standing there in his strapping colonial dress, his hair combed neatly back, but for the stray curl that never seemed to stay down. How could you crush his dreams?

"Alfred…" you began.

"[Name]." Alfred took one of your hands between his. You noticed his cheeks color slightly and you felt your heartbeat pick up. "I promise to stay safe. Thou art one of my dearest friends and I shall not leave thee." His eyes shone earnestly. A blush rose in your cheeks.

"I wilt hold thee to that," you told him sternly, trying to stop your voice from shaking.

* * *

><p>"And I plead that thou wilt take away his pain and clasp his soul in your hand. If he must leave, take him in peace, dear Lord," you prayed. You knelt on the hard wooden floorboards at the bed of an American soldier. Blood soaked the bandages around his gut and you feared he would not last long.<p>

_ So many! _you thought. _So many dead, wounded and how many more to come? Oh, Alfred! This is not what thee said…this is not what thou promised._

Any attempts at peace or a continued relationship with England had been severed-the colonies were in an out and out revolution now.

The man moaned briefly, but did not wake. You quickly turned your attention back to prayers, but it was hard. You'd been praying for hours in the hot, smelly hell-hole of a hospital that had once been the children's schoolhouse. Your knees were sore and bleeding from the kneeling and your heart was exhausted from emotional trauma.

The cries of the men in agony pierced the air along with the tormented screams of loved ones. The smell of rotting, dead flesh wafted up to the ceiling, spreading like a fog over the whole building. You didn't know how much longer you could take it-but what choice did you have? They needed you.

"[Name]!" called one of the doctors. Immediately you leapt to your feet. "I require a damp cloth," he said. You nodded and ran off, grabbing a shred of cloth that had been some poor sod's shirt and wetting it in the well outside. Hurrying back, you handed it to the doctor, who was wiping off a gruesome bullet wound in the arm of a young man.

"He is so young," you whispered.

"They are boys," the doctor replied harshly. "Foolish boys playing a deadly game they cannot win!"

You bowed your head solemnly and fell silent. Another cry interrupted your thoughts.

"[Name]! I am looking for [Name]!" a man was shouting, walking swiftly through the rows of beds.

"She is here!" the doctor answered for you. He looked over at you, as if to ask what this was about, but you merely gave him a wide-eyed look-you didn't know.

The man, dressed in a filthy American battle uniform, reached you, panting.

"[Name]?" You nodded. "Thank the Lord! Thou must come with me!" he announced. "Thou art needed!"

"Are there more injured?" you asked, your heart sinking.

"There are always more injured, Miss," the man said. He waved you on down the rows. Unsure, you followed him. He led you to a bed where a soldier lay, his dirty blonde hair disheveled, a bloody make-shift bandage wrapped around his head. Cracked glasses lay on the rickety table next to his bed.

"Alfred!" you gasped in horror. Your knees turned to water and you stumbled forward to kneel at his bed. "Oh, dear God." You crossed yourself and took one of his hands in yours.

"[Name]," Alfred croaked weakly, giving you a pained smile. Tears welled in your eyes at the sight of Alfred-so broken. He had been so full of life and energy! Anger surged in your veins-how dared England? How dared he demand loyalty from America and then turn and do this?

Blood and dirty were crusted over his face and body, cuts lacing what flesh you could see. His uniform was torn and tattered; he must have been in the thick of battle.

"Thou promised!" you accused him, your voice shaking. "Thou promised to stay safe!"

"I promised to come back," Alfred said with difficulty. "And here I am." He gave your hand a feeble squeeze. He lapsed into unconsciousness, his head lolling off to one side. You screamed for a doctor, who shuffled over as soon as he could. You hovered about until he banished you back to work because you were getting in the way.

At last the doctor found you scrubbing clean medical equipment outside and beckoned you over.

"Commander Jones hast gotten all the help I can offer," he told you. "He is sleeping now, but thou may see him if thou wishes."

Without another word, you shoved the saw you were holding into his hands and hurried into the schoolhouse to see Alfred.

Once more you knelt by his bed and clasped his hand in yours.

"Oh, Alfred," you murmured. "Thee must live…thee must come back to me. I do not wish to live without thy presence. Oh, I do love thee!" You pressed a kiss against his sooty forehead, wincing slightly at the taste.

Redoubled cries told you fresh wounded had arrived and all too soon you were torn from Alfred's side to assist in the surgeries. You focused as best you could on your task, but Alfred never left your mind.

* * *

><p>A pair of hands were clamed over your eyes.<p>

"Guess who?" a loud voice asked.

"I do not know!" you cried, struggling a bit. The person released you and you turned to see Alfred beaming at you. He still bore a bandage around his arm and several cuts and bruises on his face from the war, but otherwise he was as joyful as you'd ever seen him. "Alfred!" You cannoned into him, hugging him as tightly as you could.

"I suppose then that thou missed me?" Alfred asked, putting a hand on your head.

"Yes," you whispered, tears beginning to drip down your cheeks.

"I missed thee too," Alfred said, his voice dropping to an intimate whisper. He pressed his face into your shoulder and for a moment you just stood there like that. Then he pulled back and smiled at you. He was still his old self-but there was a new pain in his eyes. The cost of war had been far too high. "But I believe thou owest me something," he began, a mischievous glint coming into his gaze.

"I do?" You were confused.

"Thou spake words of blasphemy-that I did not have the strength to fight England," he declared. "I have done so-thou owest me something."

"And what does thou desire, oh, King Alfred?" you asked teasingly. He shook his head.

"No. No Kings here," he said seriously.

"Very well then…Oh, highest man in all the land," you corrected yourself.

"I think…a kiss will suffice," Alfred decided. You blushed furiously.

"Nay! Alfred-tis terribly improper," you argued, turning your face away, trying to hide a smile.

"[Name], since when hast thee been any boring old English lady?" Alfred pouted, leaning in towards you.

"Nay!" you insisted, pulling free of his grasp and running down the mostly empty harbor.

"You shan't run far, [Name]!" Alfred cried, following you. You gathered up your skirts and ran faster, but Alfred overtook you. He grabbed your wrist, halted your momentum and spun you against his chest. Your heart hammered in your chest and you were panting. "Calm yourself, [Name]," Alfred scolded you. "I have not even kissed thee yet!"

"As if thy kissing would excite me so!" you retorted as Alfred stared deeply into your [color] eyes.

"I think it would," Alfred purred, leaning closer to your face. "The thought of thy kiss makes my heart beat like a bird's wing!"

"I-is that so?" you stammered. You were so close…you could see every spoke in Alfred's brilliant blue irises.

Instead of an answer, Alfred pressed his lips against yours. You stiffened for a moment before giving in and kissing him back. He released your wrists and you threw your arms around his neck, holding him as though you feared someone might storm over and take him from you.

"Oh, [Name]," Alfred breathed, breaking off the kiss. "I love thee," he said, gazing lovingly at your face.

"I love thee too," you swore, tears standing in your eyes.

"And now, [Name], thee and thy children and thy children's children will live in a free world," Alfred promised. "Because I have fought and won and the tyranny of England will no longer prevail here! America will forever be a land of choice and democracy! Thee will never suffer thy loved ones to be imprisoned unfairly or thy earnings taken for payment to the King or thy house given over to soldiers. Thou art free."

"Thou hast done a wonderful thing, Alfred," you replied softly. "And I am so proud of you."

You kissed again and you felt as if, at last, through all the darkness, the sun was beginning to rise on a New World.


End file.
